I'm planning a trip to Morocco at the end of this year. Considering the Arab Spring and regular precautions, are there any "official" safety recommendations relevant to travellers from the western world? Have these safety recommendations changed in the recent past?

Has anyone been there recently and have some more information that goes beyond what I find on the web pages of national travel advice? What was your experience, or "gut feeling" regarding safety?

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@mouviciel, I'm well aware of that, but as I wrote, I was looking for something "... that goes beyond what I find on the web pages of national travel advice."
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grmAug 16 '11 at 9:44

@gm: We do not like to "forecast" or speculate about future events on this site. So I recast your question about changes in safety recommendations in the "recent past." And the question to ask "anyone who has been there recently" is about your "experience," not about "Arab Spring."
–
Tom AuApr 12 '13 at 19:58

2 Answers
2

As far as I know, Morocco is a completely different situation. There were some demonstrations, but no violence to speak of.

The Arab Spring is about regime change, overthrowing a dictator. The Moroccan King, according to Moroccans is talked to, is not viewed as a dictator like they have/had in Tunisia, Syria or Libya.

In Morocco they have elections, and are considered to be a reasonable free country. The king is however above discussion and/or elections, but he is viewed as quite liberal and progressive; generally in favour of modernising the country and political system. So although they have elections, it is not a complete democracy (and far from a dictatorial regime).

There will be new elections soon, and most of the people seem content with that decision.
So, in conclusion, I do not think there is any real risk of violence.

Actually according to Wikipedia, the Arab Spring did indeed arrive at and affect Morocco.

To quote:

In early February 2011, protests were held in Rabat, Fez and Tangier
in solidarity with the Egyptian revolution. Subsequently, a day of
protest in favour of Moroccan constitutional reform and social justice
was planned for 20 February and advertised on social networking
sites. Among the demands of the organisers was that the
constitutional role of the king should be "reduced to its natural
size". The interior minister Taib Cherkaoui affirmed the right of
the protests to take place. On 20 February, around 37,000 people
participated in demonstrations across Morocco, according to government
sources. Some protests were marred by violence and damage to property.
In Al Hoceima, five people died after protesters set fire to a
bank. On 26 February, a further protest was held in
Casablanca.

On 9 March, in a live televised address, King Mohammed announced that
he would begin a comprehensive constitutional reform aimed at
improving democracy and the rule of law. He promised to form a
commission to work on constitutional revisions, which would make
proposals to him by June, after which a referendum would be held on
the draft constitution.

On 20 March, a further protest was held in Casablanca to mark the end
of the first month since the original 20 February demonstrations and
to maintain pressure for reform. Protesters, numbering 20,000,
demanded the resignation of a number of senior politicians, including
the prime minister, Abbas El Fassi, who they regarded as corrupt.
On the same day, around 6,000 people demonstrated in Rabat.

In June, a referendum was held on changes to the constitution, which
became law on 13 September. Some protesters felt that the reforms did
not go far enough. On 18 September, 3,000 people demonstrated in
Casablanca and 2,000 in Tangier, demanding an end to the king's roles
as head of the army and of religious affairs. In October, around
50 imams protested in Rabat against state control of their
activities.

Elections were held on the basis of the new constitution in November
2011, with electoral lists reserved for young and female candidates
and with the post of prime minister, previously an appointment of the
king, being decided by the outcome of the vote.

Actually I don't think you can compare e.g. Egypt with Morocco so I think Jacco's above answer is more correct. I ended up going there and I saw many demonstrations, but they were all very peaceful.
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grmFeb 22 '12 at 7:47